Saturday, June 18

Grad Gain: 36,666
Share of 25+ Population, 2007: 5.42%
New Orleans' No. 1 ranking is likely due to former exiles returning after Hurricane Katrina. A recent report from the Census Bureau estimates that area's population in the past decade has shrunk 29%. Recovery in the urban core has remained patchy, but suburban populations have recovered more quickly from the disaster.

Can you imagine the cleanup required after Mardi Gras? Both tourists and Mother Nature have sometimes been hard on the Crescent City, which readers voted the dirtiest in America. But that doesn’t stop the good times from rolling on. Voters embraced the city’s fun-loving spirit, ranking New Orleans first for its nightlife and eclectic people-watching.

Monday, June 13

Recently I had a friend borrow a shirt and gasp when she saw my apartment's (tiny!) overstuffed closets - making it hard to even locate one shirt in the mass.

Thus, that's when I realized it was time - time to finally get control of my bedroom - you know... Do you really need all those shoes? How many t-shirts does a person actually wear? Am I ever going to use all those socks?2 days/numerous hours, one bottle of wine, and some sore muscles later - I now have my labeled trash pile thrown away, one large 'donation' garbage bag ready to drop off, and two large 'sell' bags to go through one last time to clean and prep before taking into a consignment shop.
*Phew*

You really need a thermometer for other cheeses but you can get by here turning off the heat just before the milk begins to boil.

2. Add the lemon juice (vinegar works as well) and allow the mixture to cool.

3. When cool, pour the mixture, (which now consists of curds and whey as in Miss Muffet food) into a colander and drain off the whey.

4. String up in cheesecloth and let drain from anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours.

5. Pour the curds into a bowl and sprinkle on the salt/seasoning and mix well. It is simply a matter of taste. Overall, I was way more excited about making this than actually enjoying the outcome. It came out with a texture too similar to Feta, a cheese I really do not like - thus I was a bit let down. O'well . . . one day I will move on to something harder and enjoy it a lot more - perhaps Brie.